New coral reef center to bring environmental, economic benefits

University won $15 million grant, which it will match

January 11, 2010|By David Fleshler, Sun Sentinel

In a packed lobby at Nova Southeastern University's Oceanographic Center in Dania Beach, university officials and members of Congress gathered to talk about what a new coral reef research institute will mean for South Florida.

The U.S. Department of Commerce last week announced a $15 million grant to help NSU build a $30 million coral reef center, as part of the Obama administration's campaign to bolster the economy.

After completion at the end of 2011 -- having accounted for about 300 construction jobs -- the four-story building will house 44 scientists and 50 graduate students working in its laboratories and meeting in its seminar rooms.

At a news conference filled with university trustees, professors and students, Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, called the grant a significant shot in the arm for the economy that will pay long term benefits by making Nova the nation's leader in reef research.

Nova Chancellor Ray Ferrero Jr. said the institute would have a firm environmental bent, focusing on research to help protect and restore ecosystems that have sustained sharp declines in the past decades.

Scientists will study the impact of climate change, invasive species and pollution on coral reefs. They will map out the past and current extent of coral reefs around the globe.

They will try to identify stress-resistant strains of corals and other reef organisms. They will study the reefs of the deep ocean, a relatively new area of research. And they will find ways to translate the results of their research into concrete ways to protect coral reefs.

The center, Ferrero said, will draw "scientists and researchers transmitting cutting-edge science into real-world solutions for the declining health of our oceans."

Klein and Wasserman Schultz said they worked hard to persuade administration officials to fund the center, saying it would provide both short-term construction jobs and allow scientists to address an important environmental problem.

"This is exactly the kind of research and construction project that we need to revitalize our economy and get people back to work," Wasserman Schultz said. "These researchers will be living and working in South Florida. They'll shop at local businesses like Jaxson's. They'll have their cars serviced and drop off their dry cleaning. Visiting scientists from out of town will stay in local hotels."